The Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) is a unique and shrinking biome, with less than 20% of its original coverage remaining. It has played a pivotal role in Brazil’s history, serving as the entry point for colonization and the centre of numerous economic cycles. This thesis explores the historical, environmental, and socio- economic transformations of Southern Bahia region near where the Portuguese first arrived in Brazil in 1500.
Deforestation and degradation due to extractive economies, agricultural expansion, urban development, and industrialization have diminished the forest, exacerbated climate change, and caused frequent environmental disasters. These activities have also led to the impoverishment and displacement of those with ancestral ties to the land. The core issues of land ownership and power concentration have fragmented communities and biomes, leading to severe socio-environmental consequences.
This thesis highlights the importance of revisiting the historical narrative of the Atlantic Forest landscape, by focusing on local communities’ perspectives and knowledge. These communities possess valuable practices that enable subsistence while preserving the environment. Their inclusion in territorial planning is crucial for sustainable futures. ... Read more

With an average cheese production of 947 mln kg/year, the dairy industry (in the Netherlands) is responsible for 6.3 % of agricultural/dairy/commodity greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Northwestern (NW) Europe. This report brings the production of dairy and its effects on the spatiotemporal and environmental footprints. By performing a material analysis flow of an everyday consumption product-cheese, a by-product from the milk produced by cattle raised on the vast flat pasture lands in the Netherlands, we determine its harmful role in GHG emissions. Using a mixed-method approach, this study combines qualitative and quantitative analysis methodologies, extensive literature reviews, group discussions, available QGIS datasets, farmers sharing their experiences and knowledge on YouTube channels, case studies and a stakeholder interview. This led us to the formulation of a sustainable polyculture agriculture catalogue and toolbox where the dairy sector shifts from a core polluter and extractor role to a regenerative one. A future for farming is formulated where healthy soil is at the core of agricultural thinking. We outline a cow reduction spectrum resulting in opportunities for NW Europe leading to ecological improvements of the soil. Applying this toolbox to the South-Holland scale led to a multipurpose foodscape using an Integrated Crop-Livestock System (ICLS), where cows play the primary role of fertilisers of the land and secondarily, the role of milk producers. In conclusion, the research proves that the adoption of ICLS can significantly reduce GHG emissions in dairy production territories and optimise the existing land use. Implementing this system requires a shift in mindset and has significant implications for the dairy industry, policymakers and society at large. The strategy and action plan in this research seeks to inform policymakers, urban planners and other stakeholders in the dairy farming industry on how to transition towards a more regenerative and sustainable system that benefits the environment, society and the economy in the long duree. It suggests a socially just transition to the groups of farmers via a symbiotic approach.
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This booklet is the attempt to synthesize the work developed by a multidisciplinary group of Master students from TU-Delft during the Landscape elective course OnSite. The course revolves around the design and the construction of a temporary project in a landscape setting, preceded by extensive exploration of the site. During the course, the students were given the unique chance to experience the land in multiple forms, and later on, feel the impact of their intervention.
We were assigned to work in the area called Land of Chabot, located in the north of Rotterdam, where the famous painter Henk Chabot (1894-1949) used to live. The area is constrained by the Rotte River on the north, an untouched forested area on the right and a relic of the original agricultural polders and on the left. It is currently being cut in the middle by the construction of the A16 motorway, which leads to deep structural and symbolic transformation of the landscape.
Chabot used to paint this landscape, evoking the essence of the land by his raw, harsh, and bold brushstrokes. Another powerful characteristic of his
work are the different viewpoints from which he paints the land, bringing the viewers to experience its openness and contemplate the land to its fullest.
Today, the land of Chabot is a fragment of an open farmland tissue that once surrounded the whole city of Rotterdam, and that has been profoundly changed over the years. The reason why this specific piece of land remains, is the construction of the A16 motorway that is now happening, after 30 years of planning. A huge contradiction arises due to the fact that the highway that is disrupting the land by carving it in the middle, is the very same reason why this land has been kept preserved over the years.
During the design process of our intervention, we aimed to tackle the cultural and symbolic significance of this place, and mostly, what new meanings and ways to see this landscape could take place now, given its inevitable current transformations. We dived into Chabot’s paintings and tried to capture his shifting horizon - that is different when viewed from the Rotte than when viewed from the dike, from the house where Chabot lived and worked, or from the polder floor. Our intervention became an attempt to descend into this land in order to see it. ... Read more